The Department of Land Resources has drawn up a far-reaching report that urges changes to property registration. As a result a new system of conclusive titles, guaranteeing property title, is expected to be introduced soon, according to Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Development Minister.
At present the registration of deeds and documents does not guarantee the title of the property as it operates on the principle of presumptive rights. The State assumes that the property owner enjoys proper title and proceeds with the registration.
So in practice, registration of property only amounts to a certification of transaction and does not ensure the title of the property. Any prospective buyer in order to verify the title has to undertake a tedious and difficult process of consulting various sources such as past transactions, mortgage deeds, revenue records and encumbrance certificate.
Under the new system a single agency will handle land records, document the true ownership status and guarantee the correctness of the title. The government will verify the data. Registration will sanction 'indefeasible rights.'
'We are looking at the system in the UK as a good example. The aim is to do away with the imperfect and costly examination of past titles and remove the possibility of fraud,' said a ministry spokesman.
The Ministry is also proposing to speed up the computerisation of land records using updated satellite images and Geographical Information System. To do this the two existing schemes, Computerization of Land Records and Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records will be merged, modified and replaced by the National Land Records Modernization Programme.
The project will aim to collect and digitize all land records, improve the existing digital infrastructure and build necessary capacity at the State level. A core technical advisory group will be set up to assist the States in implementing the programme.
To start with, the programme is proposed to be taken up in one or two districts in each State and Union Territory during the current financial year and subsequently scaled up.
When the new system is in place, it will aid credit institutions, disaster management, land acquisition and rehabilitation. The data will be placed on the website with proper security for easy access.